Lakers send Lin and Boozer to bench, will start Price and Davis
The 5-15 Los Angeles Lakers are shaking things up.
With a brief two-game winning streak now in the rearview mirror with a pair of losses following closely, head coach Byron Scott is making the starting lineup changes he hinted at a week ago.
Heading to the bench will be underperforming power forward Carlos Boozer, replaced by lefty Ed Davis. Also finding himself in an unfamiliar reserve role will be Jeremy Lin, replaced in the starting lineup by Ronnie Price.
It's not necessarily a matter of getting the five best players in the starting lineup here so much as it is finding a five-some that works. Lineups with Kobe Bryant, Wesley Johnson, Jordan Hill, Price and Davis haven't outperformed those same units with Lin and Boozer in place. Though, they've only had 19 minutes together so far.
| Lineup | O-Rtg | D-Rtg | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Starters, Lin, Boozer | 102.7 | 117.7 | -15.0 |
| 3 Starters, Price, Davis | 96.0 | 119.5 | -23.5 |
Davis in particular stands as an upgrade on Boozer's production, though Davis has struggled when sharing the court with Bryant. Price is not the offensive player that Lin is by any means, but the thinking here may be to allow Lin to lead a talented second unit with Boozer and Nick Young, allowing the Lakers to make hay against opposing second units.
| Player | Pts/36 | Rb% | As% | PER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lin | 14.4 | 5.2% | 25.2% | 14.4 |
| Price | 6.9 | 5.3% | 24.6% | 8.8 |
| Boozer | 17.0 | 14.1% | 9.7% | 15.2 |
| Davis | 11.0 | 18.5% | 4.2% | 17.5 |
With a team short on talent, there are any number of lineup iterations that could be argued for. The important thing here is that the Lakers are finally looking to make a change and try to salvage their moribund season, however late it may be.